teaming up

Houston renewable energy company taps 2 industry partners for project

The facility will provide hundreds of jobs with an expected daily output of up to 3,000 barrels per stream that uses both renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. Photo via Getty Images

A Houston company that's working on a major alternative energy facility in Texas has named two new partners on the project.

Santa Maria Renewable Resources has selected Topsoe as its technology provider, and executed license and engineering agreements, as well as partnered with an engineering firm for its East Texas facility.

The licenses encompass innovations like HydroflexTM and H2bridgeTM technologies. Topsoe’s HydroFlex process layout combined with the H2bridge lower carbon intensity of renewable fuels , and offers greenhouse gas emission savings. The process is part of a sustainable agriculture project currently in development by SMRR in East Texas.

The facility will provide 600 to 700 construction jobs and 300-plus permanent operating employment positions with an expected daily output of up to 3,000 barrels per stream that uses both renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. The demand for RD and SAF grows,and the aviation industry aims to meet net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

SMRR has also partnered with Chemex Global to commence the front-end engineering design for the facility in East Texas.

“The collaboration with Topsoe and Chemex Global marks a significant company milestone, amplifying the potential of our project,” says Pat Sanchez, founder and CEO of SMRR, in a news release. “The incorporation of these licenses, complemented by tailored engineering insights from both organizations will seamlessly integrate into our ongoing front end engineering design. We’re pleased to collaborate with these industry experts ensuring the smooth progression on this project.”

SMRR is a vertically integrated renewable energy, and biobased production developer.

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Syzygy Plasmonics has secured an offtake agreement for 100% of the production from its first commercial SAF plant. Photo courtesy of Syzygy.

Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics has secured a six-year official offtake agreement for the entire production volume of its first commercial-scale biogas-to-sustainable aviation fuel project in Uruguay, known as NovaSAF-1.

SP Developments Uruguay S.A., a subsidiary of Syzygy, entered into the agreement with Singapore-based commodity company Trafigura, according to a news release. There is also an option for Trafigura to purchase additional volumes from future Syzygy projects.

The first deliveries from the landmark SAF facility are expected in 2028.

“This agreement marks a critical step in our journey toward commercial-scale impact and disrupting the SAF market,” Trevor Best, CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, said in the news release. “With a signed offtake agreement from a global leader like Trafigura, and after having successfully completed FEED engineering in December, we're now ready to secure financing for the construction of NovaSAF-1 and move our technology from potential into production."

The NovaSAF-1 project will be located in Durazno, Uruguay. The facility will be the world's first electrified biogas-to-SAF facility producing renewable and advanced compliant SAF. Syzygy estimates that the project will produce over 350,000 gallons of SAF annually. The facility is expected to produce SAF with at least an 80 percent reduction in carbon intensity compared to Jet A fuel.

It’s backed by Uruguay’s largest dairy and agri-energy operations, Estancias del Lago. It will also work with Houston-based Velocys, which will provide Fischer-Tropsch technology for the project. Fischer-Tropsch technology converts synthesis gas into liquid hydrocarbons, which is key for producing synthetic fuels like SAF.

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